


Mailbox Meetings

by mahrauders



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, M/M, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-16 21:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3503957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mahrauders/pseuds/mahrauders
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a college AU from Tumblr.  Two students end up getting the mailbox next to one another.  Mostly fluff, a touch of angst, but nothing we can't recover from.</p><p>Remus was convinced he was going to be Academically focused for the whole year and 'saving the partying and socialization for next year, or the year after that.'  Right up until he meets Sirius Black, and soon after, the rest of the Marauders. Things don't always go as planned. Sometimes, they go much, much better.</p><p>In which James and Sirius both try to be wingmen for one another, Lily Evans throws cutlery, Sirius Black gets a letter nobody should have to read, and Remus Lupin falls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Alright!” Chimed the young girl at the student help desk with a smile as she handed him his new key.

“Here ya go. Sorry again, about the mess up.”

 

Remus nodded, giving her something that hopefully resembled a slight smile and taking the small key, closing it in his hand, feeling the cool metal up against his warm palm. “Thanks,”

 

“You got it! Let me know if you need anything else...R- Rem...”

 

“Remus,” He offered.

 

“Right! Well, I'm Lacey,” She pointed to her name tag and made a face like _'duh.'_ “And I'll be around if there's any more problems...or if you wanna know a nice coffee shop in the area or something.” She beamed, like beckoning him to suggest going to one together.

 

“Ah, thanks. See you around.” He mumbled, stowing the key in a small pocket on the inside of his leather carrier so it wouldn't get lost.

 

A look of disappointment seemed to flash across her face as he looked up, for just a moment. And then the smile was back. “Right. See you!”

 

He turned and left, hoping he didn't look too hasty. It was the first week of school, and he needed to get somewhat settled in before he started getting involved in the social aspects of college life. And then there would be classes, and studying and homework. Maybe next year.

 

-

 

The next day, after dinner in the intimidatingly large dining hall, he decided to go check his mail at his new mailbox. Number 13, on his floor. He was heading down the halls, which were surprisingly quiet for a bunch of kids who were fresh out of high school, dawning new found freedom before classes started in a couple days. A couple rooms were playing music that wafted through the cracks under the doors and bled through the paper-thin walls, but it was nothing that would disturb anyone’s sleep.

 

 _Thirteen, thirteen, thirteen…_ he scanned the wall of mailboxes until his eyes fell upon the number. Luckily this time, his key actually _worked._ Yesterday he tried, and looked like an idiot trying to break into somebody else's mailbox. They had a mix up, apparently, and had given him a key and mailbox that didn't actually belong together.

 

There was two letters and one small parcel inside. He smiled at the familiar handwriting on the first letter. Tonks.

 

He knew he should restrain himself. Wait until he was back in his dorm. But his dorm-mate would probably ask questions. _'Who's Tonks? Your girlfriend?'_ No way did that guy need to know he was gay. Not that the kid was particularly threatening. Quite the opposite, if he was being honest. Short and blond, and always looking like he was wondering if he should fight or flight, no matter how mundane the situation might be. But he didn't want him thinking that Remus was going to jump his bones in his sleep, or have him blab it to every other person on campus before he could even introduce himself.

 

He tore the envelope open, fumbling with the card inside.

 

_Remus! I hope this gets to you before classes start and you begin to bury yourself in encyclopedias and dictionaries and whatever else you nerdy college kids use these days. Cosmetology school starts in a fortnight and I just got back from orientation and they gave me the kit! SO many combs. And shears! And lipsticks! And you couldn't care less!_

 

_Anyways, I just wanted to send you an old fashioned letter. I know we'll probably video chat wayyyy too much for this to actually be necessary. Gosh, this is so cool. We're both living the dreams we had when we were little kids. Soon enough I'll be giving haircuts for 800$ and doing makeup for the celebrities. And you'll be filthy rich, because apparently (according to primary school teachers) all nerds become wealthy after they graduate. We'll have to plan a trip to Paris or something after this. So you can put that French to use._

 

_Good luck on your nerd adventures._

_Tonks._

_P.S. I'm starting to forget what you look like already. You have black hair, right? Short...muscular. Never mind, its starting to come back to me now!!_

 

Remus had been smiling the whole time he'd read the letter, but he finally let out a laugh at her completely opposite description of him. He was so glad he'd gotten this. It grounded him. He was already beginning to stress over the fact that he was stressed. This was a little piece of home he could have when Tonks wasn't available for video chat.

 

He was going to read it over a second time, when he heard somebody clear their throat behind him. He spun around, eyes wide.

 

He was completely caught off guard. And ill prepared to be in such a close proximity with The Most Attractive Human he Had Ever Met.

 

“Sorry, I just was wondering if I could get by?”

 

Remus didn't speak for a full five seconds before answering with a question, not moving out of the way like any normal person would have.

 

“How long have you been standing there?” He asked in a tone that edged on defensive.

 

The guy cocked his head to the side, like a confused dog, not bothering to hide the bemused expression that bestowed itself upon his annoyingly gorgeous face.

 

“Well, you were reading a letter. I had no intentions of interrupting, and I'm in no rush.”

 

His eyes were a bright gray, with long eyelashes that actually made faint shadows on his cheekbones. And dark brown hair which contrasted with his pale skin. Although Remus figured he could probably make a tan work for him, too. Hell, this guy could probably make a banana costume work for him. Unfortunately, this was not his outfit choice. Opting instead for a simple white cotton tee and some flannel pajama pants, leaving a strip of skin exposed on his abdomen. Remus realized with a start that the guy was shorter than he was. Remus was taller than everyone. But while Remus tried to make himself small, the guy had a presence that made him look the tallest.

 

“Sorry,” Remus blurted, jumping out of the way. “Its been a weird day.” He lied. He felt like he needed some type of an excuse for acting like such an idiot.

 

Hot Guy just flashed a smile and slid past him, sliding his key into mailbox 12.

 

“I actually haven't checked my mail since I got here,” the guy told him, as Remus tried to stuff Tonks letter back in its envelope, he glanced up.

 

“When did you get here?” He inquired.

 

“Three days ago. Things have been so hectic that I just never got around to... oh God.”

 

Remus looked up again, to see Hot Guy holding a very fancy dark green envelope, with silver embellishments decorating the sides.

 

“What's wrong?” Remus asked.

 

“This.” Hot Guy held up the envelope, from Walburga Black, addressed to Sirius Black.

 

“Like the star,” Remus mumbled.

 

Hot Guy made a face. “Excuse me?”

 

“Your name. Sorry. I just saw…” Remus really wasn't sure where he was going with this.

 

Luckily, Sirius filled in for him. “Ah, yeah.” He scratched his eyebrow and looked down, like it was embarrassing. “My family has this weird tradition where a bunch of us are named after things in space.”

 

“That's so cool.” Remus said. Sirius looked up, giving him a small smile.

 

“Its not cool when you're in primary school and all the kids make fun of you for your name.”

 

“Oh, tell me about it,” Remus murmured. Sirius tilted his head again and Remus internally groaned, trying to keep himself from grinning.

 

“My name's Remus.”

 

Sirius let out a laugh, and Remus knew he thought it was a weird name.

 

“Oh, like the myth? Do you have a twin brother named Romulus?”

 

Remus raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, like the myth,” he nodded “And no, I'm an only child.”

 

“Well, good.” Sirius said, the envelope now hanging forgotten at his side. “Seeing as Remus is killed by Romulus and all...” He seemed to notice Remus's surprised expression. “I'm majoring in mythology.”

 

“Oh. How ironic. I'm majoring in astronomy.” Remus told him.

 

“You're lying.” Sirius said. “I didn't even know that was a major!”

“I get that a lot.” Remus said.

 

“So, what, are you gonna be an astronaut?” Sirius gasped. “Am I talking to a guy who's going to be walking on the moon in a few years time?”

 

Remus laughed. “Um, no. Probably not.” He ducked his head. Sirius didn't say anything, but Remus could almost hear his smile. Feel his eyes on him. ' _DON'T BLUSH REMUS, DONT BE AN IDIOT.'_ He chanted in his head.

 

“So… mythology?” Remus asked, after a few moments passed, trying to pretend he was focusing on his letters.

 

“Yeah. Kinda. I'm here on a Football scholarship, so mostly I'm just here to run around a field. A lot of the other guys on the team chose really practical majors to fall back on if football didn't work out. Biology, economics. But I didn't even think about that, I guess. Football is what I need to do. So I just chose a really fun major in something I enjoy.”

 

“It does sound cool. I know all of the planets except Earth were named after Roman gods… and that Zeus is the king?” Remus said it like a question. He'd forgotten most of the Mythology he'd learned in school about two minutes after he handed in the tests.

 

Sirius nodded. “Yeah, he's king. Unfortunately for the rest of the gods.”

 

“Hmm, I do remember something about him not being too faithful to Hera.”

 

“Yeah, that's the least of it.” Sirius scoffed. Although it seemed to be directed more at Zeus than at Remus's lack of knowledge. “Not that cheating is a minor offense. But nothing Zeus really does is minor. I mean, he's Zeus.”

 

Remus nodded, feeling his lips trying to curl. Sirius looked to Remus, coming back from the world where gods were real.

 

“Oh god, I'm sorry. I'm acting like a nerd. Which, by the way, is not what I am. I'm like, the opposite of a nerd. I mean, I'm completely punk rock.”

 

Remus couldn't help but laugh. “Oh?”

 

“Yeah! One-hundred percent. No offense, by the way. Nerds are cool. I'm just not one of them.”

 

“Are you implying that you think _I_ am a nerd?” Remus asked, crossing his arms and raising an accusative eyebrow.

 

“What? Oh… well...” Sirius looked around. “I mean, yeah. But I said they were cool! I basically just said that I thought you looked smart. Not a bad thing. Maybe even a kind of compliment, if you wanna look at it that way.”

 

Remus shook his head. “No, you'd be right, Mr. One-hundred-Percent-Punk-Rock. I'm a total nerd.”

 

Sirius broke out into a 1000 watt smile, and Remus swore it was blinding. Not because his teeth were too white, but Sirius was just that type of attractive. Like, blinding attractive. Although he'd never heard or made that analogy for attractiveness before.

 

He was screwed.

 

“Well, I think I'm gonna go, before my dorm-mate has a heart attack. He's probably worried I snuck off to a party or something.”

 

“Right, of course. Sorry for keeping you.” Remus said, moving out of his way.

 

“Oh, you didn't.” Sirius didn't stop smiling. “Was nice meeting you, _Remus_.”

 

“You too, 100-Percent-Punk-Rock.” Remus kept facing the other way, locking back up his mailbox, but heard Sirius laughing behind him as he left.

 

-

 

The next day, Remus woke up to loud knocking at his door. He looked over at his dorm-mate who was currently a giant, unmoving bump under the frankly ridiculous amount of blankets he kept on his bed.

 

Remus dragged himself up, rubbing at his eyes and groggily walking over to the door, which was still being banged on.

 

Remus opened the door halfway through the guy on the other side exclaiming “PEEEETERRRRRR!” up against it.

 

“You're not Peter.”

 

Remus hadn't really gotten a good look at the guy on the other side just yet. His room was pitch black from the heavy curtains Peter, his dorm-mate had put over the window. And the hallway lights hurt his eyes as they tried to adjust.

 

“Thanks for letting me know.” Remus said through a yawn, too tired to try and sound bitter, running a hand through his hair and rubbing at his eyes some more.

 

When Remus finally got a good look at who it was, he couldn't decide whether or not to laugh, cry, or shut the door in their face.

 

“Sirius?” He settled on asking.

 

Along with Sirius, there was a guy who was shorter, with thick rimmed glasses and dark, untamed hair. His eyebrows knitted in confusion.

 

“Remus?” Sirius asked.

 

“Oh!” The bespectacled guy said, realization took away his confused expression. “Is this the guy you met at the mailboxes last night?”

 

Remus raised his eyebrows, looking over at Sirius, who laughed nervously.

 

“I mentioned you to James. In passing. Cause I thought your name was cool. And… yeah. Is Peter here?” Sirius said, changing the subject hastily. James looked like he was trying not to burst out laughing. Remus was too disorented to figure out or care if he was being made fun of.

 

“Yeah, he's still asleep, though.” Remus said, after realizing he'd been asked a question.

 

“Right, may we come in?” Asked the guy who'd been called James.

 

“Um, yeah. Sure.” Remus said, opening the door more and side-stepping to let them in.

 

James immediately passed him and started to yell some more.

 

“PETER. COME ON, PETTIGREW, RISE AND SHINE.” James shoved open the curtains, letting the sunlight flood into the small dorm. Remus realized that he would not be going back to sleep.

 

Sirius had stayed in the doorway, his hands shoved in his pockets. Remus noticed today, his hair was pulled back into a loose bun.

 

“Sorry, about him.” Sirius jutted his chin in the direction of James, who had begun pulling back the several layers of blankets on Peter's bed. “...And for waking you up.”

 

“Oh, it's cool. I suppose I should be awake by now anyways. I'm really bad at adjusting to new sleep schedules. Do you have the time?” He asked.

 

Sirius pulled out a smart phone, clicking on the screen. “Eight-forty-five. We were just grabbing Peter to go get breakfast and then do a little exploring so we aren't too lost on the first day. I guess we should have factored in dorm-mates.”

 

“Ah, yeah. This place is like a castle.” Remus said, looking down. He was suddenly very embarrassed. He was wearing a Lord of the Rings shirt and dark brown pajama pants, and his hair didn't usually settle into his usual wavy ringlets until he'd wet them down a bit. He probably looked like he had some variation of a horrible attempt at an afro right now.

 

“Aw, Remus,” Peter said, now standing up and pulling on a shirt. “You shouldn't have let them in. I trusted you.” He mumbled, his voice still slow with sleep.

 

“Already betrayed my dorm-mate and classes haven't even started yet...” Remus said, pretending to be wistful. James snorted.

 

“I still have to brush my teeth and stuff.” Peter said. “Would it be okay if they chilled here for a sec?” He pointed to James and Sirius.

 

“Yeah. I need to get ready too.” Remus realized.

 

“Going somewhere, then?” Peter asked, grabbing his deodorant.

 

“I dunno. Probably not. Maybe go get some coffee or something.”

“Well, you should come!” James said. Remus's first instinct was to say no. He turned to Sirius, who'd been quiet. Sirius's eyes flashed from James, with a look of bewilderment, to Remus, with a reassuring smile.

 

“Um, alright. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay though,” Remus said, unsure on if they really wanted him to come, or if James was just being polite.

 

“Fantastic!” James was rummaging through Peter's drawers now that he'd gone to the bathrooms.

 

“Uh, should I be concerned that you're raiding Peter's stuff?”

 

“What? Oh, no. I'm trying to find his stash. Back in boarding school, he always kept a bunch of sweets hidden somewhere in his room. Every year. This is good information for you to have, Remus. You can steal some when you're up late studying or whatever.” James said, not bothering to look up all the while.

 

“Wait, so you guys all already knew each other?” Remus asked.

 

“Yeah, yeah. We all went to this crazy boarding school and James, Peter and I were all in the same dorm, because they over estimated the student-to-room ratio. Some of us were stuffed three per room. Crowded, but we wouldn't have met and become the Marauders if it hadn't happened.” Sirius told him, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

 

“The Marauders?”

 

“That's the name we came up with in boarding school. We signed it in chalk after every one of our pranks. So we were anonymous but everyone knew it was the same group every time.” Sirius laughed. “I don't even really remember how we came up with it.”

 

 _'Don't get in with those troublesome ones,'_ his mom had told him. _'They aren't gonna help your studies and they'll seem like great people in the moment. But don't waste your time with parties and pranks and drinking.'_ He smiled at the memory.

 

“YES!” James yelled. “Padfoot, I think he's growing up! Look how nice this hiding place is.” James had flipped up one of the floorboards right next to Peter's bed, and was pulling out candies and other sweets.

 

“Oh wow,” Sirius said, stepping up and holding out his hand. “This is next level. Its organized.”

 

“Do you want anything, Remus? He won't notice its gone. We do this all the time. We actually have quite the rhythm.”

 

“...Is there chocolate, by any chance?”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Just as Remus made his way to the bathroom, Sirius wasted no time confronting James.

 

“What do you think you are doing?” Sirius asked, crossing his arms.

 

James looked down at his hands which were full of so many sweets he was beginning to wonder if he'd be able to fit it all in his pockets.

 

“Um, stealing from Peter? It's really something you should be used to by now, I think. Hey, could you-”

 

“That's not what I'm talking about. You! Inviting him.” Sirius flailed his arms a little, trying to express his frustrations through floundering limbs.

 

James finally looked up, trying to use his wrist to push his glasses back up his nose, as his fingers were all occupied at the moment. This just turned out to be counter productive, resulting in a plastic wrapped pastry and some hard candies falling to the floor.

 

“Oh bugger...” James said, momentarily distracted as he made the decision to just set it all gingerly down on Peters bed, and looking back over to Sirius.

 

“What, you don't _want_ him to come? I figured you'd enjoy his company, the way you talked about him last night!” James hissed, mirroring Sirius and crossing his arms.

 

“Oh god, do not play wing-man, James! I don't need your help. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm perfectly charming all by myself.” He said, raising his chin.

 

“Oh yeah, the way you gaped at him when he opened the door just now is definitely going to sweep him off his feet. I could practically _hear_ you drooling. Real charming, Black.”

 

Sirius made an indignant noise. “I was caught off guard! It was an unfortunate occurrence, but its not likely to ever happen again. I'm not one to gape openly. It would ruin my reputation.”

 

“Reputation?” James sputtered, with a bark of laughter. “We've not even been here for a week. Besides, you are not punk rock. For the last time.”

 

Sirius squinted at his best mate angrily. “Look me in the combat boots and tell me you honestly don't think I'm punk rock.”

 

“Oh, Christ. Not this again.” James said, looking heavenward.

 

“You brought it up, you dolt.”

 

James found that this was indeed true, so he took a long-suffering deep breath and looked down at Sirius's clunky combat boots, which _were_ very cool looking, if he was being honest. And try as he might, he could not tell the boots they weren't punk rock. He sputtered a few times, but it became clear after a fair bit of this, James would not be able to say it.

 

“Ah hah!” Sirius pointed at him like he just found out he had murdered somebody. “I told you!”

 

“Just because your shoes radiate punk rock-ness doesn't mean you are! Your footwear isn't the only thing to factor into the punk rock persona, Sirius. And I think its actually quite disrespectful to all the _real_ punk rockers to say so!”

 

“Since when are you an expert on it, then?” Sirius said, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

 

“Since when are _you?_ ”

 

Sirius opened his mouth to retaliate, but Remus and Peter walked back in just as he did. They'd obviously been chatting away, but went silent as they saw the two of them. Sirius was in his dignified bickering stance and James, bless him, always went a bit red in the face when he was trying to argue a point. So it was clear that their conversation hadn't been an extremely calm one.

 

“Uh, something wrong?” Remus asked, looking a little uncomfortable.

 

“Peter, am I or am I not punk rock?” Sirius asked pointedly.

 

James immediately started bribing. “Pete, bud. I swear, if you tell him he is not punk rock I will do everything in my power to set you up with one of the many birds here on campus.”

 

Peter rolled his eyes. “You guuuys,” He said, in a voice that was a little pathetic and whiny. “Must we get into this now? I'm hungry.”

 

“Remus.” James said. All the heads turned to the young man in question, much to his clear dismay.

 

“What do you think? Is Sirius _really_ punk rock? Or does he just wish he was?”

 

Remus smiled, looking Sirius over for a moment.

 

“Oh, of course. One hundred percent.”

 

Sirius tried and failed to keep a goofy smile off his face. James rolled his eyes helplessly.

 

“Hey!" Peter said. "Why is my stash on my bed? Did you find it?" 

 

"Time to go eat now!" James said.

 

-

 

The dining hall was just as huge as the last time Remus had visited, but now it was slightly more crowded. It was an atrium, so the whole place was lit up as if they were outside. Luckily, they weren't. It was looking like it was going to rain soon.

 

“Padfoot! James called over the noise of plates and people as they got in the line. “I'm gonna go to the toilet. If I'm not back by the time you sit, save me a seat.” Sirius nodded.

 

That name again. _Padfoot._ What was that supposed to mean? Sounded like gibberish.

 

“Alright, why do they keep calling you that?” Remus decided to ask, leaning towards Sirius.

 

“Well, what might you mean?”

 

“Padfoot. Where did that come from?”

 

“Oh!” Sirius laughed. “Alright, so in boarding school, there was this huge party. And we ended up in this game of truth or dare. I, was of course dared to go into the girls bathroom, and start singing Whitney Houston’s _'I Will Always Love You.'”_

 

 

Remus quirked an eyebrow at this, but Sirius continued.

 

“So I go in, girls start screaming. I dunno why. I'm a beautiful singer. But one of them actually pulled out pepper spray! And now I'm running, but in my haste, I stepped on a... _feminine product._ I was wearing shoes and everything, and it wasn't used. Thank god. But the pad was stuck to my foot, and before you know it, literally everyone in school was calling me Padfoot. I took it in stride, though. After all, we call Peter 'Wormtail' for an equally embarrassing reason.”

 

“That is a story you can hear around two weeks from never.” Peter said, grabbing a tray and pushing it down the buffet line, grabbing anything and everything.

 

“I'll tell you later.” Sirius whispered discretely, passing Remus a tray.

 

“Guys!” James said, as he stumbled up to them and put a plate for himself on Sirius's tray.

 

Sirius and Remus watched in bewilderment as James caught his breath. Peter grabbed more food.

 

“Speak to us, man.” Sirius commanded.

 

“I,” James said, taking a breath. “Have fallen in love.”

 

“In the time that you went to the bathroom, you fell in love? How many people could you have met?” Remus asked.

 

“You did go into the _men's_ room right?” Sirius pressed.

 

“Maybe he's just bent like you, Sirius. It would be my luck all my friends are gay.” Peter said, not bothering to turn from the food to look at them.

 

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Do save some food for the rest of the university, yeah? Its the freshman _fifteen,_ not the freshman two thousand.” This went either unheard or completely ignored by Peter.

 

Remus could hear church bells in the distance. A heavenly choir. _SIRIUS BLACK IS CONFIRMED: HOMOSEXUAL._ But he showed no sign of noticing what Peter had said. He just kept looking at James for an answer, who appeared to be in somewhat of another world.

 

“I met her on the way there.” He said wistfully. “Fire hair and emerald eyes. I was so entranced by her aura of beauty, that I didn't even know I was walking up to her until we were in front of one another. Then...then...” He seemed confused now. Like just remembering what had happened. “She asked if I needed any help with anything and… I told her she was gorgeous.”

 

Sirius scoffed. “Smooth moves, Potter.”

 

Remus couldn't help but be sympathetic. “What did she say?”

 

“She just, um, looked vaguely amused and walked away.”

 

“Not to worry!” Sirius said. “You will woo her in time. We have four years. Besides, maybe she wasn't laughing at you. Maybe she was rendered speechless by your proclamation and good looks, and all she could do was pretend to think you were an idiot. I find this is a common reaction from a lot of the people I try to flirt with.” Sirius reasoned.

 

“That's cause they _do_ think you're an idiot, Pads...” James sniffed.

 

Sirius tilted his head a little, like he hadn't considered this. And eventually shrugged like he couldn't find it in him to care.

 

-

 

“There she is!” James said. They had just finished paying for the food and were walking towards the sitting area.

 

“Well, would you look at that?” Sirius observed. “Extra seats. We must sit with them.” He said in a matter-of-fact tone, and began walking towards her and the girl in the next seat over.

 

James looked like he was going to say something, but then just puffed out a breath and followed. Remus shrugged and did the same, figuring if he was closer friends with them, he might have protested. But he only just met Sirius last night.

 

“Hello there! I just noticed you guys had some extra seats, and this place is ever so crowded...” Sirius then grabbed Remus's arm gently and pulled him forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. Remus looked at him, confused. “and my friend Remus over here has a syndrome, so he can't be standing too long. I mean, look at him. Quite frail looking yes? Oh. Oh, no. He's looking a bit pale. Remus! Stay with us! Remy! Reem? No! Don't faint! You were going to walk on the moon!” Remus was trying his hardest not to ask Sirius what he was doing, and trying even harder not to apologize to the girls.

 

“Oh my gosh.” The girl next to James's true love said. “Just sit down.” She was smiling, so that was a good sign.

 

“You're too kind.” Sirius said, pulling out a chair for Remus, who rolled his eyes, but sat anyways.

 

The girl with the long red hair was looking at James strangely.

 

“You were the guy who came up to me earlier.” She said.

 

James looked at her with big, doe eyes. “Um, I did...I'm- just. Well...no. Well, yes...”

 

“Eloquently put, James.” Sirius deadpanned.

 

“Wait, this is the idiot who called you gorgeous?” Said the girl next to her. She had black hair that fell in her face at the front, while it was much shorter in the back.

 

“Alice!” The redhead hissed, looking like she was trying hard not to laugh.

 

“Sorry.” Alice said. “Is this the fellow who approached you earlier this fine morning to comment on your appearance?”

 

“That would be him.” Sirius said.

 

“Do you even have a syndrome?” Alice asked, turning towards Remus.

 

“No, um, none of that was true.”

 

“The 'walking on the moon' part was.” Sirius added.

 

“Not really.” Remus said, shaking his head. But they'd already moved on.

 

“I apologize for my friend's lack of tact in gaining your affections. He has his daft moments. But I'm sure he's willing to make it up to you.” Sirius said, aiming the last part more at James than anyone. James's head snapped towards him, and they seemed to have a very pointed and panicked argument telepathically. It began to get awkward for Remus, so he took Peter's method, and began eating.

 

“Are you two quite done?” Alice asked, looking like she was watching two very small children argue over a crayon to draw with. They turned towards her.

 

“Um, yes. Would you happen to want to go for coffee or something sometime?” James asked, looking over at the red head.

 

The girl paused, and then giggled a little. James went red.

 

“You don't even know my name. We've spoken not even three sentences to each other, unless you're counting that feeble attempt at an answer when I asked you if you were the one that came up to me earlier.” She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows skeptically.

 

“What's your name?” James asked.

 

“Lily Evans.”

 

“I'm James Potter. You've got a lovely name there, Lily. Now I think we're up to over maybe even ten sentences. Would you like to go out sometime?” He asked once more. Remus was surprised. He went from incoherent to suave and confident in the blink of an eye.

 

Alice let out an astounded laugh. Lily Evans was not impressed.

 

“No, thank you.”

 

James did not relent. “I've just negated both of your reasons as to why we shouldn't! What's the argument?”

 

Lily scoffed. “I have other reasons. And besides, ten sentences isn't enough. We'd have to have full conversations, you know. More than one.”

 

“Well lets have some conversations, then! Over dinner. And then maybe even a movie. You can list off all those reasons as to why we shouldn't. I'm interested to hear them.”

 

“No!” Lily said, flinging her arms as she did so, fork still in hand. “And besides, women shouldn't have to even have an argument, or _reasons_ for not wanting to go out with somebody! Just because it hurts some guy's over inflated ego. A guy who obviously doesn't even bother to brush his insane hair before thinking he can impress any female he lays his eyes on! Well, you know what?” She gestured hard at him this time, making the kids around them look over in concern.

 

And in slow motion, the fork she was holding flung out of her hands, and onto James. Or more like _into_ James.

 

The play button was hit on the dramatic slow mo scene.“AHHH!” He yelled, looking down at his arm.

 

“Oh shit!” Sirius said, jumping out of his seat and coming over to inspect.

 

“I- I'm SO sorry! Oh my god!” Lily said, her face turning the same color as her hair.

 

“I'VE BEEN SLAIN.” James announced.

 

Every one at the table was up now, crowding James. The commotion grabbed the attention of even more kids, drawing the ones who'd seen the fork go flying over.

 

“Lily!” Alice scolded.

 

“I didn't MEAN to!”

 

“The prongs are like halfway in his skin!” Sirius called.

 

“It was a nice life.” James said, looking into the distance.

 

“Well, somebody do something!” Peter said.

 

“Should we call someone? Or take him somewhere?” Remus suggested.

 

“Maybe we should just pull it out!” Alice reasoned.

 

“Then he'll just bleed more! What if she hit an artery? Is it deep enough to hit an artery?” Sirius asked.

 

“ATHESTIC!” James cried.

 

“What?!”

 

“I want atheistic to be my last word!” James explained.

 

“You're not gonna die!” Sirius said, sounding exasperated and panicked at the same time, if possible.

 

“That's what they all say to the dying character before he DIES.”

 

“You're not going to- wait, you want _atheistic_ to be your last word?”

 

“Its a cool sounding word!”

 

Just then, a tall, dark haired guy pushed to the front of the crowd.

 

“Who're you?” Sirius questioned.

 

“Frank! I'm a pre-med student. Sophomore.” He called over the noise.

 

“Better than nothing!” Sirius said, stepping back. “Have at it. Real life training.” He looked around then, like just noticing all the people. “ALRIGHT, give the man some space, will you!”

 

The crowd shimmied back a couple steps as Frank the Pre-med Student started rummaging through his bag, finally pulling out a first aid kit.

 

“Was the fork being used just before it was thrown?” He asked, looking around at their group.

 

“Uh, yes!” Lily said, still looking terrified. “And I didn't...throw it. Not intentionally.” Frank didn't seem to be listening after he got his answer, popping open the kit and searching through it.

 

“Alright, so I'm gonna need you to be really still, and relax, if you can.” Frank said, pulling out a small bottle of hand sanitizer from his pocket and rubbing a bit on his hands.

 

James nodded. “Ah, are you gonna have to use alcohol wipes? Those sting so much.”

 

“'fraid so. She did just say she ate with that fork. Could have an infection if I didn't.” Frank said. Remus figured he was probably from somewhere like Liverpool. He had a distinct Scouse accent.

 

“Right, so ah… brace yourself, then.” Frank said. “I'm gonna pull it out real quick, and then apply a lot of pressure. Ready?”

 

James nodded. “As I'll ever be, I suppose.” The crowd was silent.

 

“Alright, deep breath in...” James did as instructed. “And out.” Frank said, pulling the fork out with ease, dropping it on the table and taking the gauze he had ready and pressing it to the wound. James hissed in a breath. Lily apologized again quietly.

 

Frank made quick work of cleaning it with the alcohol wipes and bandaging it tight.

 

“Okay, so you should probably see a real doctor by the end of the day. Make sure its not infected.” Frank said.

 

“I thought the alcohol made sure that wouldn't happen?” James groaned.

 

“It helps, but you should still be safe. It was a pretty deep puncture wound, and I can only really cleanse the surface.”

 

“Oh my god, I am so sorry! James, I will pay for any medical stuff.” Lily said. “And I really, _really_ didn't mean to. I was mad, but not _that_ mad.

 

By now, the crowd had pretty much dissipated.

 

“Uh, are either of you going to say thank you? Frank totally just saved your ass. Pretty sure Google wouldn't be able to tell us what to do if someone got stabbed by projectile silverware in a crowded room. He just wasted precious first aid kit supplies on you.” Alice said.

 

James and Lily both looked a little ashamed of themselves.

 

“Dude, seriously, thank you. I probably would have died if you hadn't have come. You're like, my knight in a shining cardigan.” James said.

 

Frank laughed, looking down and beginning to clean up. “Uh, no problem. Like your friend said. Real life training. Probably wouldn't have died, though.” He shrugged, seeming a little awkward now that he wasn't in doctor mode.

 

“Honestly, thank you so much. You'd be useful to have around. Alice is constantly hurting herself. Such a klutz.” Lily said, smiling nervously.

 

“Its true.” Alice agreed.

 

“Well, you should exchange numbers, in case she ever thinks she might need a doctor but isn't sure she _really_ needs to.” Sirius said. James looked at him.

 

“Dude.”

 

“What? I wanna be _somebody's_ wing man today.” He sighed.

 

“You tried to be my wing man and I got stabbed!”

 

“On accident!” Lily chimed in.

 

“I can't believe you wanted your last word to be atheistic.”

 

-

 

Their day of exploring was cut short by James's unfortunate need for medical attention. Just breakfast was eventful with these guys. He ended up just getting coffee and going to see where he was taking his classes, then coming back to the dorm to watch five episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 

Remus found himself going to his mailbox at the exact same time he had the night before, hoping that maybe Sirius would end up being there again.   _Just_ to find out what the doctor had said about James. 

 

To his surprise, he was.

 

“Moony!” Sirius called when he saw him.

 

Remus laughed. _“Moony?”_

 

“Yes. I'm giving you a nickname. James has one now. Peter and I have started calling him Prongs because of the fork. I'm calling you Moony because you're going to walk on the moon.”

 

“Just because I'm studying astronomy doesn't mean I'm actually going to space, Sirius.”

 

Sirius looked offended at this. “I would have figured you would have been too touched to correct me this time. I'm giving you a nickname, so you've been accepted into our group. It's a big deal. We haven't even considered accepting anyone into the Marauders since we met. And you got in within a day.”

 

“Hmm,” Remus considered. “is there going to be a coronation ceremony?”

 

“No. There may be some pretty hardcore hazing, though.” Sirius warned.

 

“I suppose its worth it. I am honored.”

 

“Yeah. I figured we needed a smart one. James and I have our own particular brand of genius, but we were lacking an authentic nerd.”

 

“… Thank you?”

 

“Of course, Moons. And we should try that self guided tour of the school tomorrow. Maybe we can even draw a map of the place." 

 

"Pretty sure the school offers maps already." Remus said, unlocking his mailbox. 

 

"Yeah, but our map will be better. Plus, I'm sure they're hiding some secret passage ways or something." 

 

Remus smirked. "Alright. Sounds good." 

 

"And we'll try to refrain from banging on the door so early and loud next time. No promises, though." Sirius said, pushing his hair away from his face. It wasn't tied up anymore, so it came to around halfway down his neck.

 

"As long as you make a valiant effort, its fine." 

 

"Will do." Sirius said. "Night Remus." 

 

The next morning, the ever so slightly slightly quieter banging started at 8:47 instead of 8:45. And still, Remus smiled. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Sorry there wasn't too much Sirius/Remus going on in this one. I know that's totally what you signed up for. We'll get there! I wanted to introduce some more characters before we got too far in, and get the nicknames established and all that jazz. I also want to let you know, that this fic is rated teen and up for swearing and suggestive content and eventual alcohol use. If you are here for smut, this is not the place to be, unfortunately. I could not write it for my life, and pretty much always skip over it when I read fics. It's just not my cup of tea, friends! 
> 
> PS: It was brought to my attention by my dearest father that it is actually probably impossible for somebody to throw a fork so hard that the prongs go halfway in. And although I'm sure Lily Evans can achieve incredible things when she is in the peak moment of a feminist rant, this is a NON magical AU! So, I would like for us all to pretend that the laws of physics did not exist in the split second the fork made contact with James Potters skin. For the sake of my sanity because I have now stayed up until 6:30 AM to get this posted and would cry if I had to rewrite everything for Prongs to get his nickname!! 
> 
> PPS: Feedback makes me smile a lot and motivates me to STOP SCROLLING DOWN TUMBLR AND WATCHING GILMORE GIRLS AND DO SOME WRITING, DAMMIT. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Why hello there! Thank you for taking the time to read the first chapter of the first fic I have ever gotten the courage to upload to the internet. I'm sure this isn't the best piece of writing you've ever read, but I do intend to get better as time goes on. I'd also like to apologize, as my knowledge of what university is like is lacking, due to the fact that I am not in, nor have I yet gone to college, and I'm homeschooled on top of it. Also, if this seems a bit too American despite the Marauder's Britishness, that's because the writer is American. 
> 
> If you'd like to leave feedback, such as little things you don't love so much that you think I should maybe stop doing, it's greatly appreciated! If you'd like to tell me little things you did love so much, that would also be very kind. Thanks again!


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